1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording system in which a plurlaity of information unit signals and a plurality of data unit signals relating to the information unit signals are respectively recorded on a recording medium as a recording format and a recording and/or reproducing apparatus in which such a recording medium conforming to the above recording format is used.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a prior art dictating and recording system using a plurality of remote controllers connected to a tape recorder to record an audio signal at a distant place, information data, such as a recording time, an identifying number, and the like, corresponding to an information unit signal relating to each audio signal are simultaneously recorded with the audio signal. In that case, the sudio signal and the data are respectively recorded adjacent each other but on different tracks. Upon reproducing, the data is first extracted and read out from the track and then the corresponding audio signal indicated by such data is reproduced and heard.
According to such prior art recording system, the audio signal and the data as mentioned above are recorded on a magnetic tape with a recording format as, for example, shown in FIG. 1. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, this recording system is such one in which audio signals (messages MSG1, MSG2, MSG3, MSG4, . . . ) are respectively recorded on an audio track AT and respective data are recorded on a data track DT at the positions which correspond to the end portion of each audio signal.
In the case of the prior art recording system for recording the corresponding data at the end portion of each audio signal, if it is intended to read out the data, it is necessary to read all of the data recorded on the tape. As a result, the whole of the tape must be rewound, fast-forwarded, and so on, to thereby search the recorded position of each item of data and then to read out the data or the like. Thus substantial time is required for extracting and reading out the data.
Further, in the prior art remote recording system, such as a dictating and recording system, upon recording of such an information unit signal which needs emergency attention, its identifying number is assigned and the information unit signal with the identifying number superimposed is inputted thereto, while at the recorder side, the identifying number is evaluated, and hence the emergency that the recorded data or content should be processed can be known. In this case, however, since the judgment that at which position on the tape the content needing the emergency attention is stored is carried out by a process by which, the identifying number data, which are printed on an index slip or the like and delivered when the corresponding tape is ejected, are checked one by one, this operation requires substantial time and the handling becomes troublesome.